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So, I have a weird question: In dialogue, why do we put the end punctuation within the quotations? Example:

"I like burgers," he said.

This doesn't seem logical to me, and I have been guilty of writing this way for a while, but I was talking to someone about it and realized that it doesn't make much sense. I assume it is purely conventional and arose from typographical reasons. However, what would be a logical excuse for it, or would there even be one?

In other situations of quotes, I never put the punctuation on the inside, unless it is a part of that material specifically. For example: I like the move "The Dark Knight”.

Would it be acceptable to write the top sentence as:

"I like burgers", he said.

I deal a lot with technical writing, so logic is something my mind needs.

J.R.
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AJK432
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  • See also this Guardian blog post, this punctuation guide, this Grammar Monster lesson, and (for a bit of background as to why things are the way they are) this MLA style guide. – J.R. Nov 12 '18 at 17:03
  • Through that post, there are not really any answers to the logic behinds things. If we are to fall in line with either the British or the American side of things, there are inconsistencies. However, if someone could provide a logical excuse for the punctuation going inside the dialogue quotes, then we would be good. – AJK432 Nov 15 '18 at 19:39
  • I thought that style guide post did a pretty good job of explaining how the convention is a holdover from the days of monospaced typographical fonts. – J.R. Nov 15 '18 at 21:08
  • @J.R. So why not change it? Is there a logical reason to keep it? I have heard the excuse that punctuation should always be tucked to the character to its left at most priority, but is that enough? – AJK432 Nov 16 '18 at 13:20

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